Scientists hope animals’ immune systems will fight C. difficile

Mark Brownlee, Postmedia News11.06.2011

Scientists are enlisting two unlikely allies in the fight against C. difficile bacteria. Camels and Llamas are supplying the antibodies for the latest research against the infection, which is frequently transmitted in hospitals and can be fatal. Antibodies from camels and llamas are 10 times smaller than those found in humans, which means they can more quickly recognize and alleviate disease-causing toxins.

Scientists are enlisting two unlikely allies in the fight against C. difficile bacteria.

Camels and Llamas are supplying the antibodies for the latest research against the infection, which is frequently transmitted in hospitals and can be fatal. Antibodies from camels and llamas are 10 times smaller than those found in humans, which means they can more quickly recognize and alleviate disease-causing toxins. That’s why more than 30 scientists with the federal government are using them to develop a pill to attack C. difficile’s disease-causing toxins.

That would let “good bacteria in our guts start to grow again so that people recover much more quickly,” said Sue Twine, a scientist who’s working on the project for the federal government’s National Research Council. “We’d reduce the severity of the illness and in some cases, we hope, even prevent the illness.”

Cutting back on the effect the bacteria has on the body would make it far less likely that people would die as a result of contracting the disease, she said.

Three patients at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario were diagnosed with the bacteria this week. They are currently recovering in isolation in the hospital.

A number of hospitals in Ontario spent the summer combating the disease. More than 30 people who were diagnosed with the bacteria died in Niagara region hospitals since June, while the Kingston General Hospital also dealt with an outbreak.

The infection can cause diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Those who have weakened immune systems can die as a result.

Federal scientists have been working with camel and llama antibodies for the past six years. They take DNA from the animals and then attempt to use it to design antibodies that will work in humans.

Scientists are also working on another solution that would prevent tails from growing on the C. difficile bacteria, which would then keep them from swimming towards the colon.

The scientists don’t know when either solution will be available for humans. They are still developing a way to make sure the antibodies will bind to the toxins, said Twine, but they are optimistic.

C. difficile particularly affects those who have underlying health conditions. People outside hospitals can contract it without knowing it and then transmit it to others.

Ottawa Citizen

mbrownlee@ottawacitizen.com

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Scientists hope animals’ immune systems will fight C. difficile

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